Regular verb
The verb to talk
talk → talked → talked
A2Meaning: to speak with someone; to have a conversation · Type: regular · Frequency: Top 50 English verbs
Key points to remember
- Present Simple:
talk / talks - Past Simple:
talked - Past participle:
talked - -ing form:
talking
Conjugation of the verb to talk
Present Simple
| I | talk |
| You | talk |
| He / She / It | talks |
| We | talk |
| You (pl.) | talk |
| They | talk |
Past Simple
| I | talked |
| You | talked |
| He / She / It | talked |
| We | talked |
| You (pl.) | talked |
| They | talked |
All the forms of the verb to talk
Present Simple
Full pagetalk / talks
“We talk every day.”
See the pagePresent Continuous
Full pageam / is / are talking
“I am talking to the teacher right now.”
See the pagePast Simple
Full pagetalked
“We talked for hours.”
See the pagePast Continuous
Full pagewas / were talking
“I was talking to the teacher when the phone rang.”
See the pagePresent Perfect
Full pagehave / has talked
“I have already talked to the teacher.”
See the pagePast Perfect
Full pagehad talked
“She had already talked to the teacher when I arrived.”
See the pageFuture Simple
Full pagewill talk
“I will talk to the teacher tomorrow.”
See the pageGoing to Future
Full pageam / is / are going to talk
“I'm going to talk to the teacher this weekend.”
See the pageConditional (would)
Full pagewould talk
“I would talk to the teacher if I had time.”
See the pageHow to use to talk
1. Having a conversation
- We talked all night.
2. Talk about
Talk about something = to discuss it.
- Let's talk about it.
A common mistake
1. Talk show
A talk show = a TV programme with discussions and interviews. It is very popular in the USA (Oprah, Ellen, Letterman).
Going further
Conjugating to talk is a key skill in the English contest
Every year, the Big Challenge tests the key English verbs. Register your students so they can check their level in a real contest.
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Practise on PLAYYou can conjugate to talk. Now say it out loud.
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For teachersReady-made activities to practise to talk in class
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Related pages: talk
Pages on a similar topic or with a similar use, so you can keep exploring.
Frequently asked questions
What is the past simple of talk?+
The Past Simple of talk is talked. It is a regular verb: just add -ed.
What is the difference between talk and speak?+
Talk is for a conversation between people: I talk to my friend every day. Speak is for languages, for speaking in front of people and for more formal situations: I speak English. She spoke at the meeting. Never say I talk English.
Is it talk to or talk with?+
Both are correct. Talk to someone is the most common, especially in British English. Talk with someone is common in American English, and it sounds more like a conversation where both people speak.
What does small talk mean?+
Small talk is a light, polite conversation about easy topics: the weather, the weekend, holidays. People make small talk with neighbours or with people they don't know well. It is very common in English-speaking countries.
What is a talk show?+
A talk show is a TV programme where a host talks with guests and interviews them. Talk shows are very popular in the USA: famous examples are The Oprah Winfrey Show, The Ellen DeGeneres Show and the Late Show with David Letterman.
Updated on 12 November 2026 by the Big Challenge teaching team. Every year, more than 500,000 students across Europe take part in our English contest, created in 1999. Our teaching approach →
The Big Challenge · Updated on 12 November 2026 · Source: www.thebigchallenge.com/bl/academy/learn-english/verbs/talk
© The Big Challenge. Copying allowed for classroom use. Every year, more than 500,000 students across Europe take part in our English contest, created in 1999.